Father and son duo Craig and Grant Denyer. Image: Supplied
Craig Denyer’s face might not be automatically recognisable to the mass fan base, but his contributions to Australian motorsport and its general business landscape over five decades are unquestionable.
While his son Grant has reached celebrity status as a staple part of the Australian TV landscape and been a successful competitor himself, Craig has mainly remained in the back room doing the deals for categories, teams, events and his kid on occasion – although he did have one memorable weekend as a driver – more on that later!
With 50 years of highlights to choose from, Denyer claims one of his proudest moments came when the green flag dropped on the inaugural Bathurst 24-Hour event in 2002 and then again in 2003.
“We had the idea for the 24-hour race and I convinced Ross Palmer that we needed to have a crack at it despite the massive job of putting Mt Panorama under lights for the first time,” said Denyer.
“Ross had a falling out with Tony Cochrane and decided he wanted to break away from what was AVESCO as a support category and run his own series, and wanted a Bathurst event in his own right.
“We went and met with the Bathurst City Council and once we had their tick of approval, with the introduction through then Gold Coast Indy Chairman, John Cowley, we went straight to Kerry Stokes to do the TV deal with Channel 7.
“Kerry convinced us to make Mark Beretta the host, which worked out OK, especially for Berretts!
“John then brought in James O’Brien to help administer the event, given his experience with the Gold Coast Indy, while I focussed along with a very young Nathan Prendergast, now head of Supercars Media, on delivering the television product including live coverage on the hour every night from midnight to dawn.”
Despite the depth and international drivers and entries, both races were won by the 427C Holden Monaros of Garry Rogers Motorsport.
The first year a team of young Holden heroes in Cameron McConville, Nathan Pretty, Steve Richards and Garth Tander got the job done.
In year two it was Jason Bright, Todd Kelly, Greg Murphy and the ‘King of the Mountain’, Peter Brock, who gave Holden and GRM back-to-back crowns.
Denyer attended his first motorsport event at the old Hume Weir circuit in 1968 and sat trackside mesmerised by Norm Beechey sideways in the rain in his famous Monaro.
The teenage farm boy went home that day with his brother David and a schoolmate, built an FE Holden, hand painted it ‘Beechey Shell yellow’ and got ready for a debut at Woodlands.
Ironically, the local speedway also introduced him to the world of commentary and in between his own races he climbed the wooden stairs and sparked out some play-by-play for the local crowd.
It was that time behind the microphone which would open the doors to a whole new world for the Riverina farmboy.
He found himself moving to Wagga for a taste of TV before radio called at 2LT in Lithgow and then stints at 2WS in Sydney and 2GO on the Central Coast.
Craig Denyer and Murray Walker. Image: Supplied
During his time in Gosford he also wrote a weekly motorsport column for the Central Coast Express and eventually met local competitor Graeme Bailey through the Central Coast Car Club.
Bailey had driven successfully at Mt Panorama previously, but was keen to put a program together to have a crack at an outright victory at the Bathurst 1000.
Denyer was tasked with the job of helping pull it all together from a commercial and PR sense and it’s now history that Bailey and Allan Grice went on to beat the factory-backed Holden team in the Chickadee Commodore – one of the most famous and recognisable winning entries in Bathurst history – although it was a win which had its moments.
“There is no doubt that the Bathurst win in ’86 was one of the highlights of my time in the sport,” said Denyer.
“All wins at Bathurst are special, but that one really has stood the test of time.”
Eventually radio management called and he moved to England, not that far from Brands Hatch and Silverstone.
“I was lucky,” Denyer says.
“Everywhere I worked seemed to have a racetrack down the road. I’d sneak off with a mic or a notepad and somehow end up trackside,” Denyer recalled.
“I had a great friendship with Malcolm Wilson, now head of M-Sport, Fords World Rally Team, and even brought him to Australia on two occasions to rally on the Central Coast.
“It was special to be with him again at Bathurst when the M-Sport Bentley finally won the 12 Hour, ironically a race in which James O’Brien, Bill West and I resurrected, which is now one the premiere world GT3 events.”
Denyer returned from England to take up a General Manager role with the new SEA FM network on the Gold Coast that again put him right in the middle of a great era of Australian motorport.
He lived across the road from the old Surfers Paradise Raceway and was on the ground floor when the concept of the Gold Coast Indycar event came across his desk.
He was part of a group of enthusiastic and influential people who helped the event become reality and helped it through some early traumatic and politically poisonous days.
A major part of that was INDY/FM TV which set a new standard in on-course commentary and coverage which laid a foundation for today’s big screen extravaganzas.
“Those were wild years,” he recalls.
“We were literally the voice of the event. If the fans didn’t hear it from us, they didn’t know what was happening. It was organised chaos – and we loved it.”
Ironically, it was the Gold Coast event which gave him his greatest on-track moment when he shared a car in the Pro-Am “celebrity” races, the first with Ian ‘Pete’ Geoghegan and the second with Bill Brown.
Despite a field which included other legends such as Alan Jones, John Goss, Leo Geoghegan, Bob Jane, Sir Jack Brabham and American stars Johnny Rutherford and Parnelli Jones, Denyer used all his Temora paddock-bashing skills to wring the neck of the Ford Laser and take pole position both years and finish on the podium.
“I do credit Tony Longhurst for a bit of tutoring at Norwell prior to the race but that was all a bit surreal to be honest, an amazing amount of fun,” said Denyer.
“Those were some pretty cool years.”
During the Indy event, Denyer was introduced to leading Queensland businessman Ross Palmer, who was also racing the Pro-AM celebrity race and had been a long-time supporter of Dick Johnson through his Palmer Tube Mills company.
Palmer was a wealthy eccentric, who had a passion for the sport and the teaming with Denyer and Bill West would lead to the development of PROCAR which launched GTP Production cars, Nations Cup and F3 into the mainstream as a viable option for Australian competitors, all with free-to-air television coverage.
In 2001, Denyer sat down with racer and Ford dealer Ian McAlister and now US-based PR guy Paul Ryan for a coffee – a few hours later, the V8 BRutes series was born, debuting at the Clipsal 500.
“Big V8s, small budgets and plenty of characters. We wanted a category where anyone could afford to compete, and where sponsors actually got a return,” said Denyer.
“It went against the grain for many of the traditionalists, but was raw and relatable – the crowd loved it. We were unashamedly the world championship wrestling of Australian motor sport.”
From the Craig Denyer collection. Image: Supplied
With business partner Bill West, Denyer ran the series ran for 17 years. It became a fan favourite and even spawned a New Zealand offshoot. Along the way, it helped launch careers and rekindled the old-school spirit of showmanship.
It also provided Craig with the opportunity to help his son Grant into a regular drive, which eventually resulted in a serious shot at the V8 Supercars Development Series, in which Grant finished fourth with numerous race wins. He also finished ninth outright at the Bathurst 1000 with Alex Davison driving for DJR and winning the Mike Kable Rookie of the Year title.
Hell, even Gricey made a comeback of sorts in the Ute category, along with the legendary Les Small, who engineered both Gricey and Grant’s Fords in a two-ute team, both finishing in a team 1-2 during their first outing at Oran Park.
During all this Denyer worked on the Bathurst 24 Hour concept and then on the re-birth of the Bathurst 12-Hour, which has gone on to survive a few set-backs, including Covid, but retain its lustre as a major International “must do”.
When the powers-to-be decided that the V8 BRutes were to be put to pasture, Denyer found himself with some time on his hands which eventually led to another meeting with Gold Coast based business couple Peter and Moana Robinson who had a framework sorted for a new series they would call TA2.
“The TA2s were to be big, fast and loud old-school muscle cars with big horsepower,” said Denyer.
“I knew ‘Pete’ had nailed it. As an outsider to the sport, he saw an opportunity which many inside the sport failed to see. Our mantra was to make serious racing fun again and offer the best bang for buck motorsport experience around.
“As it turned out, he went from nine cars in that initial rollout to there being more than 120 cars in the country, expanding into two domestic Australian series in Trans Am and TA2, plus launched the NZ TA2 series which has just been awarded New Zealand Touring Car Championship status.”
After some 55 years, Denyer’s last official role in the sport was last weekend supporting the final TA2 series round at Winton. But you would be gullible to think the madness was over.
“It was a hell of a ride and a hell of a lot of fun,” he said.
“I will obviously keep an eye on things from afar and have a bit more family and farming time.
“Hell, I might go and find some car to paint Norm Beechey Shell yellow – I don’t think I’m finished with this sport just yet!
“Everyone has a dream – it’s just some are more out there than others! The fastest official time ever recorded for a T Model Ford was 91.37 mph in 1904 by Henry Ford himself, setting a new world land speed record. My dream, to take a 100-year-old T Model, raced by a driver closer to 100 years old than he is 50, and achieve 100 mph – all in celebration of Fords 100-year anniversary in Australia.
“In what could be a movie sequel re-titled “The World’s Fastest Idiot”, our plan is to tackle the Lake Gairdner Salt Flats in South Australia during Speedweek and with the spirit of Bert Munro on board, and a little Methanol Moonshine in the tank, set the fastest speed for a stock block and crank T! Now that could well beat sitting in an aged care home watching VHS replays of the ’86 Bathurst win!”
WHAT HIS KID HAS TO SAY…
“Well done Dad, I’ve been lucky you’ve shaped my life in so many wonderful ways but the long term impact you’ve had on our sport has been monumental,” said Grant.
“With grace, dignity, intellect and a big dose of good humour.
“I know the last race at Winton was an emotional one for him, but he will enjoy the next chapter of what has already been an amazing life.
“From all of us who love driving, watching from the stands or watching racing on TV…
Thank you for your incredible service.
“Thank you for what you have done along the way to make my motorsport journey possible while making such a wider contribution at the same time.
“Love ya Dad.”